Mazda MX-5 wins ‘Best Roadster’ used car award

A legend in its own lifetime, the iconic Mazda MX-5 roadster continues to deliver pure motoring thrills – as a new or used car – almost 20 years since its debut. This week, MX-5 has overcome the challenge of numerous short-listed rivals to win its class in the ‘2008 Auto Express Used Car Honours’ in the popular weekly publication’s annual awards. This latest success for the Mazda MX-5 follows last month’s triumph, when Mazda’s sportscar won ‘Best Convertible’ in the 2008 Auto Express New Car Honours.

For the latest issue of Auto Express, an experienced panel of six judges, who know the used car market inside out, scrutinised the merits of the dozens of cars in 16 different categories. After much deliberation, the Mazda MX-5 two-seater emerged as the clear winner of the ‘Best Roadster’ – beating the significantly more expensive Porsche Boxster and Audi TT into the runners-up places.

Commenting on the Mazda MX-5’s victory, Auto Express stated: “In 1989, Mazda took everything that made the British Lotus Elan great, then added superb reliability and a low price to the package. Not only is the MX-5 the world's best-selling sportscar, it has also won over us loyal Brits. It’s poised to knock the classic MGB off the top spot for both popularity and parts supply in the UK. The problem our judges faced come ‘decision time’ was choosing between the current and previous generations of the MX-5 – the Mazda is a fantastic choice and a thrilling drive.”

Highlighting the dilemma facing members of the judging panel, British Car Auctions general manager Ashley Feldman said: "My first thoughts were in favour of the present-shape MX-5 as it's more desirable. But it is simply impossible to ignore the availability and value of the older model. Both versions will fend off most sportscar rivals in every way, so we can recommend them as a pair."

Accepting the latest award for Mazda UK, Marketing Director Mark Cameron commented: “In the UK, the iconic two-seater, rear-wheel drive Mazda MX-5 sportscar continues to be hugely popular with both the public and media. It delivers on the promise of thrilling open-air motoring, with everyday reliability and modest running costs. Since its launch in the UK in 1990 we have sold more than 90,000 MX-5s so there is broad selection of used models available through our ‘Zoom-Zoom Plus’ approved used car programme and of course through other outlets nationwide.

“The MX-5 soft-top can be opened and closed in just a few seconds, using only one hand and without getting out of the car. The Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe features the world’s fastest-folding hard-top – up or down in just 12 seconds. And by a miracle of packaging ingenuity, this roof retracts into a compact space behind the seats so the boot space maintains its 150-litre volume as before – a unique innovation among modern sports cars,” concludes Cameron.

Competitive ownership costs

Thanks to the excellent levels of security, including Thatcham category 1 alarm and immobiliser (standard on all models), together with the modest overall costs of crash repair, the insurance groups for both the Mazda MX-5 soft-top and Roadster Coupe are highly competitive, ranging from 11E to 13E.

Improved residual values are also apparent. The indicative three-year/60,000 mile residual values from used car experts CAP Motor Research predict the Mazda MX-5 will retain between 43 per cent of its value (2.0i Sport) and 47 per cent (1.8i base model) at disposal time – making it an unbeatable ownership proposition.